Discovering the Hope Town Harbour Lodge in The Bahamas

By Guy Britton

ABACO — Elbow Cay is one of those islands on the edge, another level of away. 

But the journey is worth it.

You have to leave a small island to get to this even smaller island, a place where no cars are allowed, four miles long end to end and home to perhaps the quintessential historic Bahamian town.

And it was here at the Hope Town Harbour Lodge in Abaco, where hospitality in many ways began, a place that remains the preeminent purveyor of authentic Bahamian experiences on the island.

Hope Town and its famous lighthouse.

The 25-room property began here as a guest house, grew into a hotel and eventually became the boutique resort it is today, a truly complete place to stay, from the amazing two-mile beach to the pool and one of the prettiest pubs you’ll ever see.

As you walk up the steps, through the lodge and on to the back street you can feel the history; you look out over the hill and gaze upon the beach and imagine what those who first came here felt.

The lodge faces east, pointing to where the Atlantic welcomes The Bahamas.

There is a distinct rhythm here created by the ocean tides, the moon, the wind and the sun.

A colorful cottage at the HTHL.

You have to listen for it; and once it settles in the rhythm is so distinct you can’t fight it. It takes you over. 

It’s a part of the experience of staying here and it starts with the sunrise. The sun does not rise here — it jumps out of the sea.

The sunrises are remarkable.

If you make the voyage out to Elbow Cay you’ll be drawn to the Hope Town Harbour Lodge, the center and the hub of the island, a place that is the pulse of Hope Town, a charming little village that teems with golf carts and travelers and beach lovers.

And at the end of the day, when you’ve been to the beach and strolled around and watched the sunset, you can retire to a beach bar that’s got one of the best views in The Bahamas.

It’s a daily ritual that’s dangerously easy to repeat, at a place that leaves a mark on you — and a place that’s exceptionally hard to leave.

For more, visit the Hope Town Harbour Lodge.

Watch more in the latest CJ Video.

— CJ